Cruel And Unusual Punishment

Angel Raich is living a pretty sad life. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor that keeps her in constant pain, and the only medicine that helps alleviate that pain is illegal. She’s a medical marijuana user.

Two years ago, she was involved in a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court ruled that she and persons like her could be prosecuted for violating federal drug laws despite the fact that medicinal use of marijuana was legal in California, her home state.

Now, she’s been handed another setback by the Courts:

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) — A California woman whose doctor says marijuana is the only medicine keeping her alive is not immune from federal prosecution on drug charges, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

The case was brought by Angel Raich, an Oakland mother of two who suffers from scoliosis, a brain tumor, chronic nausea, and other ailments. On her doctor’s advice, she eats or smokes marijuana every couple of hours to ease her pain and bolster a nonexistent appetite as conventional drugs did not work. Whilst she has been told that marijuana will help ease the pain from her brain tumor, it might not be able to ease the symptoms of her scoliosis. If she’s finding that her scoliosis is painful, she might be better to look at other treatment options, such as visiting a scoliosis institute to hopefully relieve her spinal problem. Whilst marijuana may be helping to ease her scoliosis currently, it might be better for her to seek direct relief from a spinal doctor. To ease her other illnesses, marijuana seems to be working well. If you don’t know much about marijuana products, it may be useful to read a marijuana glossary before buying any sort of marijuana-based product. Especially given the number of different ways that marijuana can be taken nowadays. As well as smoking it, you can vape it, use it in the form of oils and salves, or eat it in the form of baked goods or chocolate, like these shatter bars. There are more and more marijuana products appearing on the market, so it’s good to be informed about what’s out there.

The Supreme Court ruled against Raich two years ago, saying that medical marijuana users and their suppliers could be prosecuted for breaching federal drug laws even if they lived in a state such as California where medical pot is legal.

Because of that ruling, the issue before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was narrowed to the so-called right to life theory: that marijuana should be allowed if it is the only viable option to keep a patient alive.

Raich, 41, began sobbing when she was told of the decision and said she would continue using the drug.

“I’m sure not going to let them kill me,” she said. “Oh my God.”

And, so, after a two year trek through the legal system we are left with this: a woman dying from a brain tumor could conceivably go to a Federal Prison for smoking pot. If there is a stupider, more cruel, example of the damage the War On (Some) Drugs does to real people, I’d like to see it.